With Donald Trump now polling ahead of him in multiple national surveys, Jeb Bush evidently feels he has no choice but to fight back directly. And today in Iowa, he hit Trump with the harshest criticism he could muster.
“On our side there are people that prey on people’s fears and their angst as well,” Bush said at a campaign stop in Council Bluffs. “I don’t know about you, but I think it is wrong. I believe we need to unify our country. We need to stop tearing — separating ourselves by race and ethnicity and income.”
“We need to focus on the things that tie us together, and whether it’s Donald Trump or Barack Obama, their rhetoric of divisiveness is wrong,” the candidate added, essentially equating the two men.
“A Republican will never win by striking fear in people’s hearts,” Bush continued. “A Republican can win, and will win, if we have an aspirational message that gives people hope that their lives will be better when we apply conservative principles the right way.”
Bush was proud enough of this new line of attack that he posted the clip on his own YouTube page:
However, the analogy has already met with some skepticism on Twitter:
Five days ago, Jeb said he was done talking about Trump. Today: pic.twitter.com/TG0lzIRJEO
— Sam Stein (@samsteinhp) July 14, 2015
http://t.co/No3G0aD2ik Bush is off track #Trump2016 getting to him.
— John Parisella (@JohnParisella) July 14, 2015
I'd be interested to know how Jeb ranks the comparative "divisiveness" in the rhetoric of Donald Trump and Barack Obama…
— McKay Coppins (@mckaycoppins) July 14, 2015
Jeb Bush just equated Trump's rhetoric with Obama's in terms of divisiveness, because he's a moron.
— Danielle (@abradacabla) July 14, 2015
[Photo via screengrab]
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